I had the pleasure to go on a Studio Tour at Warner Brothers. There are so many forms of art that go into making movies and television shows; concept art, fashion design, set design, traditional and computer generated animation, etc. It was fascinating to see so many of these art forms come to life in the exhibits on the studio tour.

​I'll focus this blog on the Concept Art that I saw for the Harry Potter movie franchise. Every element of the films were carefully designed and illustrated through creative and inspiring concept art. The production designer for the films and the art department created hundreds (perhaps thousands) of sketches and full-color renderings that helped to inform the look of the films as well as the fabrication of the props, sets, creatures, characters, and costumes. From the concept art, decisions were made to refine and select and approve final versions.

Creating the magical creatures that filled the world of Harry Potter wasn't an easy task and involved a massive team of artists and special effects experts. From the concept art, the Creature Effects team developed 3-D creatures from small maquettes to full-sized animatronic beasts. Some of these sculptures were created so that they can be scanned into a computer and modified digitally in post-production.

Harry Potter Films Concept Art

Concept Art for "Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them"

Concept Art for "Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them"

Warner Brothers Animation is one of the most famous animation studios. I learned that Warner Brothers has won 6 Oscars, 35 Emmys, and 20 Annie Awards (excellence in animation). I remember Warner Brothers for its cartoons featuring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Yogi Bear, and Tom & Jerry. Even more notably, Warner Brothers is the home of DC Comics Superhero franchises such as Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman.

In addition to concept art, Storyboards transform the written words of the script into visual images depicting action in a series of illustrative panels. Storyboards help indicate camera movement, close-up shots, long shots, or other specialty shots. The storyboards help the director and crew design the finished sequence as well as plan the logistics of the shoot itself. The art department is in charge of designing everything photographed in a movie before it is shot. Other visual tools in addition to Storyboards and conept art innclude digital renderings, and models.